Help please on value of a WW2 german helmet shell, no liner.

gwozdz

Member
My father brought this helmet home when he returned after serving in WW2 and after many years of neglect and my bothers playing with it, I decided to repaint it. The liner had long dissapeared by the time I got to it. In its present condition, what might be the non collector value of this shell if I decide to sell it? It was rusted, but in solid condition. I realize the painted color is wrong and the inside was painted with brown primer. There are a few scuffs, but no dents. I could not find anything stamped inside the shell. It may be something for a project for someone. Also, is it possible to ID the model of this shell? Thanks in advance.

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If there are visible factory stamps on the inside rim a restorer/re-enactor may give you $100 for it. I'm getting an EF factory vibe on this one.

On the inside rear rim in line with the rear liner attachment hole there may be a stamp like EF66 above a 4 digit lot number.
 
Why did he repainted it ?
Not everybody is a collector or assumes intrinsic value in old militaria. OP did state that he'd had this helmet as a kid and had been used as a toy. I had a 1911 Holster that my father had brought home from Vietnam. As a youngster, I ran thru the woods playing army with that holster. It had been chewed on by a few dogs and left out in the rain a few times. It wasnt until I got much older that I realized it was a rare maker and probably a WWI holster. Would I do anything differently? No. All those years I spent playing with that holster wouldnt be offset for a few hundred bucks if it were still in 'as issued' condition.
 
Op may not be a collector but he is asking about a value of helmet if he decides to sell it. On that alone, it may have brought a few more bucks in the condition it was in before he painted it.
 
Why did he repainted it ?
I painted the shell because it had rusted inside and out and there was no paint left on it. Would you put a rusted helmet shell on top of your gun cabinet or a shell that looks somewhat like the helmet sergeant Schultz would have worn?
 
I painted the shell because it had rusted inside and out and there was no paint left on it. Would you put a rusted helmet shell on top of your gun cabinet or a shell that looks somewhat like the helmet sergeant Schultz would have worn?
if you wanted to paint it you could have used camo paint which comes in various shades and wouldn’t be shiny. The shine is awful!
 
Makes me want to go find an untouched rust bucket and restore it. Nice looking lids.
The shells all came from Norway. Two were used by the railroad and had been repainted. They were in good shape with no rust. The chinstraps I got from a fellow who bought German machines and makes various leather items including WWI liners with horse hair pillows! The rivets are genuine.
 
A ton of these came to the US via Unique Imports back in the '70s. I always wanted one then as a kid but Dad didn't want that old Nazi junk in his house.
 
From what I have seen and personally experienced selling one of mine, decent, restorable, bare (no liner) shells with non-original paint (including Norwegian and Finnish repaints) go in the $100 to $125 range,
 
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